Parent's Choice

Classic Books For Boys and Young Men To Read

by Kevyn Gohu
June 30, 2025

Here are some classic books that’ll get our boys reading

While we all know the benefits of reading, the problem is finding a good plot and character to invest in. It’s easier to convince our daughters to read nowadays; with most girls having a strong female lead character, they have a wider selection of books than boys. And let’s be honest, we’re sure most boy moms are frustrated with the lack of books to read. So, we have to go back to the classic books and there are actually a lot for our boys to read!

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A classic tale where a young man, Dorian Gray, makes a deal with a devil to remain forever young. However, years spent making scandals and shady deals destroyed his image, which appears in a portrait of himself he keeps. Eventually, he looks into the portrait and the weight of his crimes crashes upon him. But what’s beautiful about The Picture of Dorian Gray is that it teaches our boys the nature of beauty and morality and how human nature is not as simple as they’re led to believe.

Call of the Wild by Jack London

While the main character is a Saint Bernard dog, The Call of the Wild is a touching story of how animals are just like humans: how even the kindest can turn into the most feral. After being sold by Judge Miller’s greedy assistant, Buck (the main character) learns the ways of the wild before finally being found by another kind family. However, the kind family is also killed, which leads the Saint Bernard to lead his own pack and swear vengeance on those who killed his loved ones.

White Fang by Jack London

Another dog-related story, except for White Fang, it’s a story of touching both sides of one’s identity, and showing how animals view humans. White Fang is a dog-wolf hybrid that lived both the hard and the good life. First, he is taken in by a camp and withstands the harsh conditions, only to be shoved out by the other pups who don’t accept him. He’s also rejected by his mother, who seemingly forgets him after having a new litter of pups. However, he finds a happy ending in the end and even earns the title, “The Blessed Wolf.”

While it teaches our boys about animals and how they see humans, it’s also a story that assures all hardships will come to pass.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

There’s a reason teachers often use Lord of the Flies as a book report. A story about how civilization can easily fall without structure and rules, it does so on the level of kids who are stranded on an island. There are two factions led by Ralph and Jack, who showcase the different kinds of leaders and morality a person may have. While Ralph tries to improve their chances, Jack gives in and influences the other boys to give in to savagery.

The instances are no different from daily life; there will be people who want to help, but there are also those who just want to bulldoze through things. The Lord of the Flies shows how quickly people can forget their manners and ethics during desperate times.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Whenever it’s Shakespeare, common titles like the romantic Romeo and Juliet and the tragic Macbeth usually pop out in the school’s curriculum. But he’s got more titles, and The Tempest is one of the more interesting ones in our opinion. A duke who had been banished to an island with his young daughter, Prospero, not only masters magic but also builds a life for himself and his daughter, Miranda, on the beach. It’s a tale when his past comes back to haunt him, but he takes it upon himself to make things right without making his daughter an accomplice.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

“Wait and hope” — a famous line from the politically and philosophically intriguing novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Although the story plays heavily on themes of revenge, Dantes uses his cunning and lets the system deal the final blow. However, the story also shows just how complex revenge is. There’s a fine line between getting justice and personal gratification, to which the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo often asks himself.

It’s a story that warns our boys that, as much as we want to “get even,” it can easily go from justified to being completely indulgent.

Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri

If our boys are in love with the Devil May Cry series, then they may want to read the original material that inspired it. After all, the twin sons of Sparda, Dante and Vergil, are named after the two writers: Dante Alighieri and the Roman poet Virgil.

The collection of classic books, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, is often collectively referred to as “Dante’s Inferno” and tackles various visualizations of heaven, hell, and purgatory. It shows how certain sins were viewed back in the day and how the punishment is almost always related to said sin. Our boys probably like looking at that kind of thing, considering all the video games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and many others.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Before The Lord of the Rings, there was The Hobbit. Written in 1937, it’s a fantasy story that tackles growth. A timid yet witty hobbit named Bilbo Baggins leaves the comfort of his home, The Shire, to go on an adventure to help a group of dwarves reclaim their homeland. The band is led by Thorin Oakenshield and advised by one of the great wizards, Gandalf the Grey.

While there’s already a film adaptation, the book does train our boys to understand old-style English, which teaches them how to write formal papers for school. Plus, it’s a more exciting book than the usual. There’s war and the terrifying Smaug the dragon — what more do they want?

The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas

French writer Alexander Dumas seems to have a lot of quotable sayings. Besides “wait and hope,” The Three Musketeers has its own: “All for one, and one for all!”

Unlike The Count of Monte Cristo, this has more action and swordplay, which is something they’ll probably like more. And if they’re playing a game like Kingdom Hearts, then the term “musketeer” will be quite familiar to them. The only difference is that the musketeers are not named Donald, Mickey, and Goofy. It’s Porthos, Athos, and Aramis. A fourth eventually joins, the aspiring musketeer D’Artagnan.

What we love about this classic book is that it teaches our boys that chasing their dreams does come with heartbreak and regrets. At the end of it all, it’s good to ask, “Was it all worth it?”

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

If our boys ever ask who started the sci-fi/horror genre, then the famous one would be British novelist Mary Shelley. Her story focuses on a scientist named Victor Frankenstein and his newfound obsession with alchemy. It’s here that he decides to do what is only considered possible for God: to create a new life by sewing together various body parts. The creature eventually comes to life and experiences what it means to be “human.”

Besides being the pioneer for all things sci-fi/horror, the classic book does have a theme that gets our boys thinking: “What does it mean to be human?” Especially during the advent of AI, it makes them think what would separate man from the machine. Executive functions can easily be done; but what is it that only humans can do and machines can’t?

Many of these classic books inspired the video games they love

Our boys love video games but they forget that those ideas didn’t just pop out of the ground. Video game developers, particularly writers, spend much of their days reading. Not just novels but even the original historical text to make sure that the production is accurate and immersive enough to become the video games they love so much. The best part is, these books are constantly in production, being reproduced to revise the cover to make them more appealing.

While some schools may have scrapped these books off their reading list, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. All of these classic books are available in the neighborhood bookstores.